WSVG World Championship 2015- Unofficial Write UP |
Here's the un-official write-up for Group B, in my opinion the most interesting Group of the SHowdown stage, due to the exciting ending, close games and surprising result. It's gotten a bit long, but I hope some fo you will hang in there and read it anyway - the last two will probably be a little shorter. :D I hope I haven't made any mistakes, but if I ahve, feel free to point them out, I lika constructive criticism, and feedback is always welcome. I aim to finish the Showdown write-ups before the Maldives event starts, but it depends. Anyway, i hope you enjoy!
DauT - TaToH
In the second group of the Showdown stage, the two remaining SY players, LoveCheng and Yo, faced off against Wolfpack player TaToH, and Serbian TyRanT Legend DauT. In the first game, TaToH and DauT Faced each other for the second game in the tournament, giving TaToH a chance of revenge against DauT for the loss in the regional final. This however, proved easier said than done for him. In the Aztec mirror of Dry Arabia, a close game had TaToH attempting Castle Age aggression with crossbowmen, but he failed do do sufficient damage to stop DauT from ramming him with elite eagle warriors later. As the hordes of eagles of DauT stormed TaToH, the first game went to the Serbian. TaToH's home map, Baltic, saw DauT taking the water early, while TaToH tried a sneak on land, only to see it failing. With DauT leading 2-0, the game was learning toward a repeat of the result in the qualifiers. A long regicide fortress saw TaToH attempting to surprise DauTby picking Goths to counter the Mayans of DauT, but the Serbian would not be fooled. He managed to do the significant damage early on, to prevent TaToH from truly massing enough huskarls, and the score went 3-0. TaToH salvaged a little honor by winning a close Team Islands game, but in the final home map of DauT, Arena, the TyRanT was victorious, and with a 4-1 victory, on track to the Maldives, while TaToH would probably be forced to beat both LoveCheng and Mr. Yo to reach the Maldives.
Yo - LoveCheng
At that time, the two SY players faced each other. Early aggression by LoveCheng did not pay sufficiently off early on, and Yo bounced back in late Castle and Imperial Age, with a strong economy to make champions and eagles to take the Dry Arabia game. However, the favorite Yo got on his back heels in LoveCheng's home map of Arena, and lost the Castle Age aggression mid map, putting the score 1-1. Yo picked Ghost Lake as his home map, and in this Mayans mirror, a somewhat longer game went in the favor of Yo, putting him 2-1. LoveCheng then picked Migration, perhaps having seen Yo struggle in that map against IamOk in the qualifiers. However, Yo was not fooled here, and pulled the game home to a 3-1 lead. In the next game of Rooster, the second home map of Yo, LoveCheng turned the tables on the water, and put the score 3-2. However, Yo proved strongest in the Japanese mirror on Desert, taking home a comfortable 4-2 victory, setting him up against TaToH in the next round.
Yo - TaToH
These games could all but ensure Yo a ticket to the Maldives with a victory, and he certainly went for the kill from the offset. In a somewhat unorthodox Dry Arabia game, Yo pulled off a victory, putting himself in the lead. In the Baltic game, TaToH once again proved his water skills, as he has done before, and put the score 1-1. However Yo, once again picking Ghost Lake as a home map, managed to but the score at 2-1, before a new water map, Team Islands, allowed TaToH to equalize. Yo's second home map of Sand Maze was a longer game, at an excess of 1 hour, and a Mongol mirror, that nonetheless allowed Yo to win. As against LoveCheng, Yo was strongest in the Japanese mirror in Desert, and with 4-2, Yo was all but ready for the Maldives. However, his celebrations were to be postponed by a surprising result in the adjacent game.
LoveCheng - DauT
LoveCheng had already proved his skill to challenge TyRanTs in the play-off stage, but few probably expected him to repeat the trick when faced with legendary DauT, the second seed of the group. DauT was aggressive early in the Dry Arabia game, but LoveCheng was more efficiently so, and after harassing his economy, LoveCheng managed to mass more crossbows, to finish the game before transitioning into eagles by sheer outmicroing of DauT. DauT picked Sand Maze as a home map, with a Mayans mirror ensuing, but LoveCheng had far from stopped impressing. In the end, LoveCheng outproduced DauT, to put the score 2-0 in his favor. With LoveCheng picking the Chinese favorite of Nomad as a home map, DauT pulled one back through a stronger start. Next, DauT picked Regicide Fortress. Here, LoveCheng tried his luck with early aggression, but eventually, DauT pushed him back to put the score at 2-2. Next, LoveCheng picked Double Arabia, where a Huns mirror led to LoveCheng aggression with knights, which put ham ahead 3-2. In the Japanese mirror on Desert, an extended Feudal War took place, but with LoveCheng as a successful aggressor. The SY player pulled off a surprising 4-2 victory, which stirred up the expectations of the group.
LoveCheng - TaToH
That set up an interesting finale, where even TaToH had a theoretic chance of reaching the Maldives, could be beat LoveCheng 4-0 combined with a Yo victory over DauT with the same amount. Conversely, Yo could still be eliminated if he lost 4-1 or 4-0 to DauT. TaToH and LoveCheng played first, in a game that moved to Voobly China because of lag. LoveCheng was dependent on his team mate Yo's results against DauT to be certain of progressing, but could do nothing but play his best against TaToH. In a series featuring many interesting civ choices, TaToH chose Japanese in the first Arabia game which ended int eh favor of LoveCheng however. In TaToH's home map Baltic, LoveCheng won as well, and his home map Nomad put him ahead 3-0. TaToH managed to pull one back in his second home map Team Islands, but in the final game of Sand Maze, LoveCheng made no mistake to win 4-1. That left his fate in the hands of Yo and DauT, while TaToH's WSVG adventure ended in three Showdown defeats.
Yo - DauT
The final game between Yo and DauT therefore, was the decider. A 4-1 or 4-0 victory for DauT would send DauT and LoveCheng to the Maldives, a 4-2 victory would send Yo and DauT to the Maldives, while a 4-3 victory to DauT or a victory to Yo would send both Chinese players through. However, Yo soon proved he was not out to squeeze through with a narrow defeat: He meant to win and pull his team mate with him to the Maldives. A surprisingly short Dry Arabia game ended in the favor of Yo, forcing DauT to win four games in a row to progress, too much even for the AoC legend. True enough, his home map, a long and entertaining game of Regicide Fortress game saw Yo securing himself by winning his second game. However, he made no mistake to also secure LoveChengs spot by winning Double Arabia, and put the score 3-0. DauT secured a consolation point in Arena, but with the final victory o Yo in Nomad, Group B ended in the surprising SY domination, sending both LoveCheng and Yo to the Maldives, while the Europeans where eliminated.